Folded pastries such as Polish pierogi, Cornish pasties, and the like are very difficult to make. In order to form the pastry, a circular cutter is typically employed to cut out a pastry shell from rolled-out dough. A spoonful of filling is placed in the middle of the circular shell and the shell is folded over the filling with the edges of the shell being coincident to form a semicircular rim consisting of two layers of dough. The pastry shell is typically sealed by pressing the two layers of dough forming the rim together using one's fingers. After the shell is sealed, any unwanted, excess dough is trimmed from the rim and the pastry is ready for cooking. This method is very time-consuming and typically does not result in pastries of uniform size or shape. Further, a novice cook may not effect a good enough seal to hold the pastry together during cooking. A bad seal can be disastrous. For example, a pierogi is typically cooked in boiling water. If the pastry rim is not sufficiently sealed, the pierogi will burst while cooking. This results not only in a mess, but further wastes the dough and filling which can no longer be reworked. In order to ensure a good seal, some cooks use a thicker dough and further form a wide rim. However, thick shells and wide rims are undesirable in some folded pastries.
Circular cutters have been known to include a sealing flange. Such cutters simultaneously cut and seal two layers of dough to form a sandwiched pastry. These cutters, however, have been found unsuitable for use in forming a folded pastry. One of the problems in using such a cutter to form a folded pastry is caused by the positioning of the filling on the shell. Typically, when a circular cutter is used, the filling is placed in the center of the shell as described above. The shell is then folded by bringing the edge of one half of the circular shell and the edge of the other half of the circular shell together with one's fingers, sealing the edges while folding. This method eliminates the need to use the sealing flange of the cutter since sealing of the pastry is done at the same time that the pastry shell is folded. Further, each half of the pastry shell formed by this method is rounded, making sealing of the pastry with known cutters having a sealing flange very difficult. When using a circular cutter, the filling may also be placed on one half of the circular shell so that the other half of the shell may be folded over the filling to form the top of the shell. In order to accommodate the filling, the shell half, which is folded over the filling, must be stretched so that its edge is coincident with the edge of the shell half underlying the filling for sealing. This method results in a pastry shell of un-uniform thickness which is undesirable. Further, because the top half of the shell must be stretched so that the edge of this portion of the shell is coincident with the edge of the lower portion of the shell, it is easier to seal the shell while stretching it by using one's fingers than it is to use the sealing flange of the circular cutter.